The Flames Were Lit, Now There's No Turning Back
by Kersist
Summary: Oneshot. Even though you told me all those years ago that we couldn't be together, I still can't help but love you. Mitsu.


I don't own K-ON. But I do with I had a Ritsu of my own.

* * *

I don't know when our friendship started to change, but I wasn't complaining. The way you looked at me and smiled. The way you laughed at my jokes. The way you held my arm tightly when you were scared. Every little thing you did and every reaction to what I do is just so damn adorable. I just can't help but love you. With the way you act around me, it's no surprise that people assumed we were together. But that day you vehemently denied that we were together and we were only friends tore at my heart.

xxxx

_Thump, thump, thump, thump._

I kept a steady beat as you started playing along, the purr of your bass compelling me to keep up the beat. It was just you and me on a stage, playing our instruments. Not even Yui, Mugi, or Azusa was here. It was just the two of us, playing our hearts out. I frowned as something started buzzing and looked around, slowing my drumming to a stop. The buzzing got louder as I glanced at you. You were clutching your bass close to you, saying something and looking away but since the buzzing was loud, I couldn't hear you.

"Mio?"

xxxx

I opened my eyes and groaned; the annoying buzzing continuing behind me. I reached behind me and smacked Mio's alarm. Who sets their alarm on a weekend? Apparently Mio does. Debating with myself for a moment on whether or not I wanted to start my day, I ran a hand through my bangs before stopping. Didn't I leave my hair up last night? Glancing down, I finally noticed how we were positioned. Mio was curled up against me, arm thrown over my waist and her head tucked against my shoulder. Well she did cling to anything near her in her sleep, but I thought she stopped that years ago. Then again, she was usually awake before me... I rolled onto my back and stifled a yawn. Glancing at the clock, I groaned again. Why oh why, Mio, do you have your alarm set to go off at seven in the morning on a weekend? Stifling another yawn, I rested my free arm behind my head and stared blankly at the ceiling, letting myself space out. It's been three years since we graduated and here we are, doing the same things as usual. Kind of surprising, if you think about it. We're in college and busy with our band, yet we still have the time to hang out with each other.

"…issu…" I look over at her as she nuzzles closer to me and clings tighter to my waist. You're so cute sometimes, Mio. And rather confusing at times. I smiled at her before turning my attention back to the ceiling. It's been five years since I told you how I felt. You just smiled at me and told me you couldn't. But you still treated me like your best friend. We did the same things and nothing changed. Although recently, things have become questionable, but I dare not give myself hope.

Mio sat up suddenly and looked around before looking and me and blinking. She obviously was still half asleep, but it was still amusing. She smiled at me before leaning forward and kissing my cheek, surprising me.

"Morning Rissu…" I smiled back and decided to keep my composure since she was half asleep and probably won't remember later.

"Morning Mio. Sleep well?" She nodded before cuddling close to me again.

"Still sleepy…" Allowing myself to drop my guard for a moment, I leaned forward and kissed her forehead before pulling her close.

"Go back to sleep then, silly."

"Kay…" After a moment, her breathing evened out again, signaling she was asleep once again. Since it was still so early, I figured I would go back to sleep as well. I buried my nose in her hair and sighed before closing my eyes. This was different, but I still shouldn't let myself get hopeful. And I hope she doesn't get angry when she wakes up.

xxxx

I leapt out of bed when Mio screamed. Heart pounding I looked around for something, anything, like a burglar only to find her crouched on the other side of the room.

"Mio? What's wrong?" I knelt down next to her and put my hand on her shoulder. She was shaking.

"Th-there's a spider..."

"_Seriously?_" I looked around her room before finding the culprit sitting on her laptop. I'm guessing she was going to use her laptop and accidently touched it.

"I'll get rid of it for you. Stay here." Standing, I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed a cup before making my way back to her room. After capturing the little guy, I made my way outside to let it go before returning the cup to the kitchen and making my way back up to Mio.

"Alright it's gone now." I said as I yawned and stretched. Making note of the time, I looked around for my headband, unable to remember where I put it. I shrugged and gave up, plopping on Mio's bed again.

"Let's go out and do something, Mio."

"Ah... But I have homework..."

"It'll still be there when we come back. Come on, please? We haven't gone out and done anything in a month! A whole month, Mio!" I couldn't help but grin when she smiled back and nodded.

xxxx

We were walking together, side by side, down a familiar path. We decided that since we didn't have the funds to see a movie or get lunch, we would just go for a walk instead. We talked about everything from cakes to music. At one point, I made fun of her girly lyrics, but quickly gave up on that when her fist met the top on my head. After a bit of walking, we came across the little park we used to play at when we were younger. I ran forward and leapt into the sandbox.

"Hey Mio! Watch me make a castle!"

"What are you, five?" She sat on the edge of the sandbox and watched as I attempted to make a sand castle. I gave up after ten minutes because the sand kept falling down. As I dusted myself off, I looked around and was hit by nostalgia. Mio had walked over to the swing set and sat down, watching me. I smiled and walked towards the swing next to her.

"It's been a while since we've been here, huh."

"Yeah... A couple years, at least." I nodded and looked around again. We had so many different memories here. This was the place Mio would come to when she was stressed. Or when we told her she had to sing for our first performance our freshman year, she came running here. And when she played Romeo for the Romeo and Juliet play our senior year. I snickered to myself as memories of the play flashed through my mind, causing Mio to turn her attention to me.

"What's so funny?"  
"You are."

"I haven't done anything though."

"You remember the play we did our senior year?"  
"How could I forget? It was so embarrassing. I can't believe I managed to pull it off. I can't believe _you_ managed to pull it off."

"It was worth embarrassing myself to see you try and play Romeo. Besides, I thought you were pretty cute." I grinned as she blushed and looked away. We were silent for a moment, watching the sun set before she stood up and stretched.

"It's getting late. We should head back to my house." I stood and went to follow her. As I was about to shove my hands in my pockets, her left grabbed my right. I hid my blush and grinned at hers instead as I tightened my grip on her hand. I still wasn't going to allow myself to get my hopes up, but she didn't let go of my hand the entire walk home.

xxxx

It's been four days since I've seen her. Four long and uneventful days. It's exam season, which means we have a lot of studying to do. But unlike previous times, we chose to study our own way. Meaning Mio locked herself in her room for four days. I sighed and I turned the page of the book I was reading for class. I would rather be distracting someone from studying instead of actually studying myself. Deciding I was bored with reading, I grabbed my phone and flopped on the floor. I scrolled through my contact list before finding the name I wanted. However, before I could click on it, my phone started ringing.  
"Hello Mio~"

"Hey Ritsu. Um... Are you doing anything right now?"

"Nah just studying since I have nothing better to do. Why what's up?"

"Ah, nothing really. Think you could do me a favor?"  
"Sure, anything!"

"Come unlock your front door? I left your key at my house." I grinned as I shot up and out of my room, down the stairs and to the door, throwing it open. There she was in front of me, still holding her phone to her ear and a bag in her other hand, probably filled with clothes from the looks of it.

"Well Mio, you look rather adorable today." I said into the receiver even though she was standing in front of me and grinned as she blushed.  
"Are you going to let me in or do I have to keep standing here?" She hung up and stuck her phone in her pocket before looking at me grinning like an idiot.

"I dunno. Maybe I should charge you something, since you did just show up unexpectedly on my door step. Hm..." I pretended to think as I watched her. I really hadn't expected her to show up. If anything, I would have been the one to show up at her house and cause a ruckus, so this really is a surprise. I noticed her blush darken a little, so I opened my mouth to say something, but not before she stepped closer and kissed me on the cheek.

"T-there. Will that work?" She was looking anywhere but me. I smiled and stepped aside, letting her in. Of course, that kiss took me by surprise, but I could think about it later.

"So Mio, this is a surprise. I'm usually the one that shows up at your house. Did you miss me or something?"

"Mm maybe." She smiled at me before making her way up to my room.

"Aw come on, Mio. If I admit I missed you will you admit you missed me too? 'Cause I know you did." I followed her up, but stopped to lean on my doorframe while she sat on my bed.

"Hm let me think about it." She smiled as she pretended to think like I did moments ago. Well two can play at this game. I shoved my hands into my pockets as I walked towards her, stopping in front of her and leaning forward. I stopped inches from her face and grinned again as she started to blush.

"Still thinking?"

"Um..." I examined her face before she did something that completely threw me off guard. She reached up and grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me down, bringing my lips to hers.

xxxx

I sat in my living room with the TV on, though I wasn't paying much attention to it in the first place. My mind was on the girl who was currently in the shower upstairs. And I hate to admit it, but I was confused. After she had kissed me, Mio ran off to my shower, leaving me stunned. I have no idea how I should be feeling about this, but this isn't the point. The point was, she kissed me. _Mio_ kissed _me_. My heart pounded in my chest and I felt myself blush. I decided I would think about that later as I heard the bathroom door open. I schooled my features before grinning and turning my head to meet my blushing beauty.

"So uh... My parents went to visit my aunt and took Satoshi with them. I was supposed to go with, but with exams coming up, I had to stay behind."

"I-I see..." She sat down next to me and stared at her hands on her lap. We both sat in silence for a moment, the show on TV the only sound in the room until I stood up and stretched.

"Well I guess I'll go make us some dinner. That okay?" She nodded and I retreated to the kitchen. I decided to just throw something small together since it was just the two of us. I also decided to just play this off as if nothing happened. At least for now. Eventually when she's calmed down enough, I'll ask her why.

xxxx

We were sitting on my couch once again, watching a movie. After we had eaten, we returned to my room in an attempt to study some more, but we quickly got over that. Mio was being quiet, most likely because of the kiss earlier, so I dragged her down to my living room and threw the first movie I grabbed into the DVD player. I couldn't tell what kind of movie it was, but I had a feeling I accidently grabbed a horror movie. And sure enough, there was a moment of foreshadowing. I felt Mio slide closer to me, just discovering it was a scary movie. I grabbed a blanket that was draped on the side of the couch and beckoned her closer to me before draping it across our laps. That way when it starts getting scary, she can just hide behind the blanket. Of course, this had to be one of those movies with five minutes of boring footage, the bam! Right into the scary parts. Mio was already cowering and holding the blanket over her nose so she could duck behind it when the movie got really scary. I thought for a moment before shifting to lean against the armrest of the couch. I reach over to grab Mio's arm and drag her with me, causing her to jump and yelp. When her head reached the safety of my chest, I wrapped my arms around her and shifted until I was comfortable. I've spent all these years not allowing myself hope, but after that kiss earlier, I was allowed a tiny glimmer of it. She tilted her head up to look at me and I smiled back.

"There." I whispered. "Now nothing can get you, okay?" She blushed and nodded before clinging to me and returning her attention to the movie. I tilted my head a little, preferring to watch her face than the movie. She was still blushing and I don't think she was even watching the movie at this point. We were both silent as the movie continued playing despite neither of us paying attention. I closed my eyes and listened to her breathing until the music for the credits broke into my thoughts. I opened my eyes and looked down at Mio's face to find her eyes closed as well, though I don't think she was asleep yet.

"Hey." I nudged her shoulder to get her attention. She blinked and looked up at me.

"It's almost one and we have school tomorrow. So uh... I think we should head to bed."

"Ah! Um. Okay." She pushed herself up and stretched as I rolled off the couch and bounced up on my feet. I grinned at her before leading the way back up to my room. Once there I flung myself on my bed while Mio dug through her bag for something to sleep in and escaping to the restroom once again, leaving me to think for a moment as I quickly changed into some sleepwear.

"I'm going to have to talk to her or something." I mumbled to myself. "But how to bring this up..." I thought to myself for a moment. Well I could do this one of two ways; I could just ask her why she randomly kissed me or I could pull a stunt and see how she reacted to that. Taking risks was more my style anyway. I pretended to play drums before she finally returned. She smiled in amusement as she sat next to me, focusing her attention somewhere outside my window.

"Hey Ritsu..."

"Hm?" I stopped my air drumming and turned my attention to her.

"Do you remember what you told me all those years ago?" I thought for a minute before grinning.

"...there's a spider on your pillow?"

"I-I'm being serious!" She turned to glare at me.

"Right right sorry. No I don't remember. It could be anything." It wasn't just anything, it was something. She had to be referring to the day I confessed to her, but playing dumb never hurt.

"That day you told me you liked me..." She blushed and looked away again.

"Ah yeah that. Of course I remember." I wonder where she's going with this...

"D-do you still..." She left it hanging, but I know what she meant.

"Like you?" I smiled and took her hand in mine. "Of course I do Mio. I don't think anything could ever change how I feel about you." Her blush darkened. She is just so amazingly adorable sometimes.

"T-there's something I should probably tell you then..." Of course, judging from how she's acting, I now know she likes me too. But I'll keep playing dumb to be safe.

"Alright. Go ahead." I watched as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself.

"I... Like you too..." Her voice lowered to a whisper and she looked down at our hands, tightening her grip on mine. I just smiled at her, happy that I was right.

"Mio..." When she looked up, I leaned in and kissed her. Short and sweet, but enough to tell her how I felt at that moment. I rested my forehead against hers and lost myself in her storm gray eyes.

"I know." She jumped back, shock written across her face.

"H-how?" I smiled at her expression and kissed her forehead before thinking for a moment.

"Well... You haven't exactly been subtle about it. You've been getting clingier. Not really hard to notice that." She opened her mouth to interrupt, but I continued before she could. "I mean, at first when I started to notice, I didn't let myself think too much about it. I wasn't going to give myself false hope if you didn't love me the way I loved you. But some of the things you did were hard to ignore. Then today pretty much told me everything I needed to know."

"So then..."

"I had a feeling, but I wasn't going to say anything in case I was wrong." She nodded before leaning forward and resting her head against my shoulder.

"As happy as I am, we still have class tomorrow." I smiled when she started laughing before pouting and leaning back to look at her face.

"What's so funny?"

"I never knew you were so concerned on whether or not we actually attended classes." She started giggling again as I grinned.

"I'm not. I just don't want you to get mad at me because we miss a class." I pulled back my blanket and crawled into bed. I patted the spot next to me and looked at Mio expectantly as she blushed. Finally she gave in and crawled under the blankets, cuddling close to me and sighing. Of course, I wasn't going to let her sleep without giving me a good night kiss first. I tilted her head up and smiled at her as she blinked sleepily at me before leaning in a kissing her gently. There are no words to describe how I feel now. But I can finally say that I truly am happy now.

* * *

So who out there cried during episode 24? -raises her hand- Man it was depressing. I mean it was all fine and dandy until Azusa started crying. Then I was like "Noooo. T^T" True story.  
Anyway, the first two paragraphs were separate things, but I had nothing to do with them, so I threw them together and gradually started writing this whole thing out. So the first paragraph can be considered back when Ritsu first confessed or something. I don't know, use your imagination. The second part was a random dream that I randomly wrote and I just kept writing from there.  
Honestly, this one shot kept me from my other projects. But now that it's done, I think I'll go finish up chapter two of That Beat We Play.  
Thanks for reading!. :]


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